


ME:Rescue

by pianochic90



Series: Commander Jane "Jae" Shepard [4]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-14
Updated: 2016-08-14
Packaged: 2018-08-08 14:02:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7760701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pianochic90/pseuds/pianochic90
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the destruction of the Collector base, the Normandy returned to earth to face the consequences - but now, with Reapers on the horizon, the galaxy's greatest hero has disappeared. (An AU Jae Shepard story)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Alright, let’s try this again. Did the _former_ Commander Shepard give you any indication as to where she was going?”  
“Yeah...the Citadel, how many times do I have to say it?”  
“Simply repeating your answer won’t help your case.” The balding man tugged on his right uniform sleeve in frustration, straightening the cuff. “You are in a _lot_ of trouble right now. Cooperating with us will go a long way towards mitigating that.”  
“Look Hor-hash-”  
“Jorash! It’s _Major_ Jorash.”  
“Yeah, I don’t care. I’ve told you fifty times already, Shepard doesn’t run. That word isn’t even in her vocabulary.”  
“You’re pretty loyal to a commander that left you here to take the fall.”  
“She would never do that. This is a smear-job and I’m not giving you anything. Especially after what you all did to her.”  
“Fine! You can rot in jail.” Metal scraped loudly against the floor as the interrogator shoved his chair back. “We’ll see how quickly your memory sharpens after being locked in a room for a couple days.”  
Joker smiled tightly, flipping his finger up in a rude gesture.  
The Alliance officer’s face flushed angrily, the sudden redness of his bald head stark against the dark blue uniform.  
“You little-”  
One of the heavy metal doors behind the man swished open, cutting off his retort.  
Joker’s grin faded.  
“Excuse me, I’m in the middle of-” Jorash turned angrily, “-uh, Commander Alenko. You're not cleared for this investigation.”  
Kaidan stalked into the room, face impassive. He silently looked Joker up and down before reaching up and tapped the emblem on his own left shoulder. “It’s _Major_ Alenko, actually, and Admiral Anderson asked for my assistance in this matter. The committee approved his request an hour ago.” He removed a small datapad from his pocket and held it towards his colleague, “I think you’ll find everything to be in order.”  
“I-but, I-” The other man sputtered, “You can’t just take over in the middle of an interrogation.”  
“I can’t?” Kaidan cocked his head to the side, a small wrinkle tightening his brow. “One, I have personal experience with this suspect, which automatically makes me a better choice for this line of questioning. Two, your clumsy attempts have been painfully unsuccessful, so I decided it was necessary for me to step in. Now, if you don’t mind-”  
Joker smirked, leaning back as he watched the power-play. Bringing Alenko in was a low blow, but that didn’t make the other officer’s discomfort any less enjoyable to watch. The dead calm on Kaidan’s face, on the other hand, was scary as hell.  
“I will be filing a report about this, _Major,_ you can count on that!”  
“I’d expect no less. Alenko is spelled A-l-e-n-k-o.”  
“Motherf-” Jorash stalked out and the door snapped shut, muting the colorful oath he tossed over his shoulder.

Kaidan turned back to the table and Joker met his gaze, studying his former crewmate. The man had aged considerably since he’d seen him last. Heavy creases lined the corner of his eyes, and a few silver strands stood out against his dark hair. Much more subtle was the solemn focus that froze his face into a cold mask, erasing all traces of the warm familiarity he’d always associated with the former lieutenant.  
A long moment passed before Alenko finally nudged the chair forward and sat down. He tapped on the console in the middle of the table, keying in a command before turning it towards Joker.  
“State your name for the record.”  
“Seriously?”  
“Please.”  
“Uh, Joker, but you can just put ‘the best damn pilot in the galaxy’.”  
Kaidan’s shook his head, “are you or are you not former-flight-lieutenant Jeff Moreau?”  
“Come on, man. We flew together for over a year and you never learned my name?”  
“Just answer the question.”  
“Fine. Yeah. That’s me.”  
“Thank you.”  
The awkward formality of the situation rubbed Joker the wrong way, and he crossed his arms in disgust.  
“So what are you doing here, _Major_ Alenko? They really fly you in from whatever backwards planet you were protecting just to bring down Shepard? That’s pretty sick.”  
Kaidan’s jaw tightened for a moment, but the man simply pulled another datapad from his pocket and set it down, swiping the screen forward till he found what he was looking for.  
“Did Major Jorash inform you of your current situation?”  
“I guess? He kept asking me about Shepard’s escape plan, but I don’t think he wanted to share too much. Honestly, they’re just trying to make her look bad so they don’t have to give her a fair trial. They already think she’s a traitor, let’s add resisting arrest to that list and seal the deal.”  
“According to this report, the Normandy received clearance and docked yesterday afternoon. The five crew-members onboard were met by Alliance officers who escorted them to this base. Is that correct so far?”  
“Yeah. I didn’t see what happened to Gabby and Kevin, but they took me and the doc in one shuttle and Shepard in the other. They have her hidden away in a cell somewhere, don’t they? They could never-”  
“Damn it, Joker, this isn’t a conspiracy!” The formal mask vanished from Kaidan’s expression as he slammed his palm into the table.  
Joker paused, suddenly concerned for the first time.  
“Shepard’s shuttle never arrived.”  
“What?”  
“The shuttle never arrived. She’s gone.”  
“Gone? Where!”  
“We don’t know. The report we received from her escort declared a sudden engine failure and that they intended to set down in the middle of the city. Less than two minutes after they exited the shuttle there was an explosion. Both soldiers are dead, as well as half a dozen civilians.”  
“Oh,” Joker knew his mouth was hanging open, but his brain couldn’t focus on closing it _and_ process the information he’d just received. “is-is she-”  
“Disappeared.” Kaidan spun the datapad around, sliding it across the table till it touched the pilot’s manacled hands. “The smoke was pretty heavy, but we were able to pull some video from a security camera two blocks down.”  
A black and white Shepard faced away from the billowing smoke, frozen in mid-stumble, while a blurry man loomed close behind, one hand pressed to her back and the other supporting her elbow. Even with the grainy picture, Joker couldn’t deny that his armor looked gut-wrenchingly familiar.  
“I don’t understand.”  
“It looks like she was accompanied by two individuals.” Alenko motioned towards the shadowy man, then tapped a second smudge on the very edge of the screen. “The video shows them helping her away from the scene and into an unmarked shuttle. At this point, speculation is that they were her accomplices, tasked with sabotaging the shuttle and initiating the explosion.”  
“Maybe it was an accident. Maybe she hit her head and stumbled away. Maybe she didn't know what she was doing.”  
“The techs that cleared the scene found fragments of a small makeshift bomb. It looks like it was attached to the underside of the shuttle.”  
“Well, she was forced then. They’re kidnapping her.”  
“I didn’t see any indication of force. They didn’t even draw their weapons.”

Joker dropped his forehead into his bound hands as he took a moment to process everything.  _What the hell was going on? Had this been her plan all along? Fake her death and disappear so she wouldn’t have to stand trial? That didn’t fit.  
_ “Wait, wait. Do you really believe that Shepard could plan this?”  
“We don’t know, but the facts are-”  
“No! Drop the ‘we’ act. Do _you_ honestly believe Shepard is capable of this? Faking her death? Killing civilians just to keep herself safe?”  
“I-I don’t know.”  
“That’s fucking bullshit! You served with her for a year. Hell, you were closer to her than any of the rest of us. You _know_ that’s not like her.”  
The major sighed heavily, dropping his gaze. “You’re right. The Shepard I knew would never do this.” He paused, his left hand tapping the table in agitation. “But the Shepard I knew would never join Cerberus after seeing the monstrous experiments they conducted.”  
“She didn’t join C-” Joker choked on the words as he clenched his hands into fists, wishing he could wrap them around his friend’s throat. “You know what, I’m done answering questions. I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but you need to pull your head out of your ass and figure out what’s really going on here, instead of letting them drag her through the mud.”  
He stood awkwardly, “I’d like to go back to my room now.”


	2. Chapter 2

Kaidan scrolled slowly through the report in front of him, scanning each word in detail. Anything to ignore the disappointed look Karin Chakwas was leveling at him.  
“You state here that the commander’s demeanor seemed different than you remember.”  
“Those are private notes, Major. I said no such thing in any official report.”  
“I’m sorry, Doctor. As I stated before, your entire database was confiscated when the Normandy transferred ownership to the Alliance, including your reports to Cerberus and all medical files. Everything entered onto that server became Alliance property.”  
“Well it _shouldn’t_ be.”  
“Duly noted. Now, your exact words in this report are _‘hardened, like bulletproof glass'._  You use that description in regards to the "new" Shepard.In the next entry you speculate on what psychological effects losing two years might have on a person’s mental state.”  
“What are you doing?”  
Kaidan glanced up, concerned by the sudden distress in her voice.  
“I’m trying to do my job.” He slid the datapad to the side and leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. “I’m trying to understand why she would do this.”  
“She wouldn’t.”  
“That’s what Joker said.”  
“That’s what _you_ would have said a year ago.”  
“I know.”  
“What happened to you?”  
He sighed, “We aren’t here to discuss me, doctor.”  
“Well, maybe we should be.”  
Kaidan punched a button on the recording console, muting the feed. “You _know_ what happened to me, Karin. You were there. Everyone was there. We watched the Normandy explode. We watched her _die_!”  
“Yes, we did, and we grieved for a long time. But then _we_ moved on like functioning human beings. Because of that, when she suddenly reappeared in our lives we were able to accept it as a gift.”  
“A gift? A gift! She was gone for two years. I _mourned_ her for two years! When she finally shows up again she’s working for Cerberus. Cerberus!”  
“ _With_ Cerberus, certainly not _for._ And I chose to work with them as well. We all _temporarily_ set aside our differences to work towards a mutual goal. I know they’ve done horrible things in the past, but-”  
“No! You don’t get to brush those ‘horrible’ things aside. You weren’t there when we cleared out the research facilities! You didn’t see what they did. But Shepard saw. She knew better.”  
Karin narrowed her eyes at him, “and _you_ weren’t there when those alien beasts kidnapped us. When they stuck us in pods and started liquefying my crew. If you’d seen _that_ , you wouldn’t sit there and question Shepard’s choices. The collectors _had_ to be stopped and Cerberus was the only one willing to do it. End of story.”  
The ferocity of her words cut through his anger and he stared at his hands, ashamed. “I-I’m sorry you had to live through that.”  
“Don’t apologize for someone else’s evil. You have enough to apologize for.”  
“That’s...probably true.” Kaidan grimaced at her bluntness, “I’m just trying to piece it all together. None of it fits.”  
“Are you sure you’re working with the right pieces?”  
“I don’t know anymore. We didn’t receive much from her during that time. Only what we could intercept from Cerberus. Beyond that, we were only able to gather some idea of her actions from reported sightings and a few communications with Admiral Hackett.” He rubbed the back of his neck tiredly, “but a lot of the reports didn’t line up with the Shepard I knew. When I got word that the Normandy was heading here, I hoped we could clear the air. That she’d be able to explain everything, and I’d actually listen this time. But now-”  
Kaidan closed his eyes. He could feel the doctor’s pointed gaze on him as he rested his head in his hands, but he didn’t care anymore. Months of frustration and worry leading up to twenty-four hours of shocked anger had drained him, both physically and mentally.

The silence stretched for several minutes before Doctor Chakwas straightened. She reached for his console, clearing her throat delicately before pressing the record button.  
“Major Alenko, I can’t speak to what happened yesterday because I wasn’t there, but I can account for the commander’s actions over the past year. Shepard arrived on the Normandy having been in an induced coma of sorts for two years. She woke up to a completely different world than she’d left. Everything she’d worked for in defeating Saren had been swept under the rug. No one believed the things she’d warned of. She’d been written off as a heroic but mentally confused soldier. The term PTSD was surely tossed around as well.  
On top of all that, humans were disappearing in large numbers and no one was doing a damn thing about it. This new world around her was a mess, and the only fix was to work with the one group she hated. You know as well as I that ‘ _hate_ ’ doesn’t come naturally to Shepard, this wasn’t an easy decision.  
So yes, Shepard seemed different. She seemed harder, more harsh. Her emotions often ran high, and she didn’t exude the calm demeanor we’d experienced serving under her Alliance command. She was facing opposition on all fronts. She had to roll in the mud a little, but she did it gladly because it meant saving her people, even if they didn’t thank her for it.  
If you’d taken the time to read further in my _personal_ notes, you would’ve seen an entry that sums up my feelings on the matter perfectly. May I?” She motioned towards the datapad, and Kaidan nodded, placing it in her palm. “This entry I’m about to read was written a few days before the Collectors boarded the Normandy and took us captive."  

> _I’ve studied the commander closely over the past several months, searching for any undue stress and monitoring her mental health. I know she’s stretching herself thin and I won’t hesitate to step in if I see anything of concern._
> 
> _This Shepard is different than the Alliance officer I grew to respect. She’s older, more hardened. Though I suppose that statement could apply to the entire crew. Over the last few months we’ve all lost our naive sense of safety. There is something disheartening about knowing you_ _are_ _the final play. That if you fail, there isn’t anyone braver or more experienced around the corner to bail humanity out. That underlying sense of urgency never goes away._
> 
> _Of course there are actions the commander has taken that I don’t approve of. Things the old Shepard would never have done. She’s more likely to resort to violence, choosing force over negotiation. When I hear of these things, I wonder and I worry._
> 
> _But then Tali will share how she hunted down a Presidium groundskeeper just to answer a question she heard in passing. Or I’ll hear from Jacob how she stopped to heal a wounded batarian as he spat in her face and called her names. These are the moments I listen for. These reports put my fears to rest._
> 
> _Commander Shepard has abandoned her delicate gentleness and diplomacy, for now, but she will never lose her compassion. And it’s that deeply-rooted empathy that drives her to protect this galaxy against the unfathomable threat it now faces._
> 
> _I don’t know how the commander will be viewed in coming centuries. History is rarely kind to those it highlights, but I hope this small testimony will do its part to ensure her actions are fairly recounted._

Karin set the report back down on the table and folded her hands together, meeting Kaidan’s gaze evenly.  
“So yes, this picture you showed me seems pretty damning. All evidence points towards traitorous actions. But the Shepard I served with for three years could not, and _would_ not, do such a thing. She said she would return to the Alliance to accept the consequence of her actions and I believe that is exactly what she intended to do. Whatever happened to that shuttle was not by her hand, which means something or someone took her. Right now, Major, you’re probably the only one who can find out why.”


	3. Chapter 3

Kaidan sat on the edge of the desk in his temporary office.  
The room was fairly sparse; furnished only with a desk, empty bookshelf, and a cot in the corner. The two hour commute to his parent’s house just outside the city wasn’t feasible for a short-term assignment like this, but he’d turned down the offer of a house on base. He didn’t need three or four empty rooms. He’d learned how to live economically in the field, and preferred it that way.  
Crossing his arms, he leaned back. For a brief moment he allowed his mind to clear, and wondered how his team was doing. The recruits in the SOBC were incredibly gifted, but still young. Under his leadership they’d come a long way in the last couple months. He was proud of how well the group worked together, and not just because it had facilitated his recent promotion to _Major._ They’d become his purpose, his sole focus, something he’d desperately needed.  
A heavy pressure settled on his chest as he tried to not think about the last group of people he’d pulled close, or how they’d-  
 _Beep._ A low chime pulled him from his memories as the office door slid open.  
“Major?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Your visitor is here as requested.”  
“Thank you, Holmes. That’ll be all.”  
The private stepped back, motioning behind him. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay, Major?” He patted the gun on his hip dramatically as his charge stepped around him and into the room.  
“First of all, I don’t appreciate being treated like a dangerous prisoner.” Joker scoffed, holding up his hands to draw attention to the handcuffs, “and second, you’ve obviously never seen this man fight. I’ve seen Alenko throw a man across the room with a single wave of his hand, just for asking a stupid question!”  
Kaidan hid a smile at the horrified look on the young soldier’s face, and waved him away. “We’ll be fine, Holmes, thank you.”  
“Yes, sir.”

“Too easy. I think he about pissed his pants.”  
“You enjoyed that a little too much.”  
“Eh, gotta get my kicks somewhere.”  
Kaidan shook his head in amusement, “right.”  
He stood, moving around the desk. “Are you being treated ok?”  
“Well, if you don’t count the constant surveillance and sour looks, I suppose so.”  
“Good, want to get out of those cuffs?”  
“Nah, I’ve grown to appreciate them. We’re going to dinner tomorrow, probably meet the parents next week-”  
Kaidan smiled again as he tapped the keylock sequence on the manacles, “Well, I figured they’d stand out a little on our field trip.”  
Joker’s face lit up, “We’re going off base?”

 

* * *

 

Kaidan grimaced as he walked up the Normandy’s ramp. His stomach turned and he resisted the urge to turn around. Memories bombarded his brain, stirring up the early twinges of a migraine.

_A flash of light as the sickening yellow beam sliced through the hull like paper. Two halves spun away from each other and tiny pieces of debris scattered through the air. The escape pod around him continued its slow spin and he lost sight of the wreckage. Please let them have gotten into a pod in time, please! He didn’t know who he was praying to, but he hoped someone was listening._   
_He held his breath in silence as he waited for another glimpse of the Normandy’s burnt hull. As the ship came back into view, he unbuckled his safety harness, pressing his helmet against the window, desperate to take in everything. Come on. Come on. Where were they?_   
_There! A tiny dot moved away from the ship, heading in their direction. Scrambling for the sparse board of controls, he tried to hail the other pod; but the communication-array was intended for rescuers in close proximity, and the long-range distress beacon wasn’t going to be much help in this situation._   
_Climbing back over the other passengers, he focused out the window again. The tiny dot was still there, matching their speed._   
_Suddenly, the Normandy skeleton exploded, scattering outward._   
_Kaidan’s escape-pod rocked from the blast, tumbling end over end. He braced against the window, trying not to fall backwards onto his crewmates. The other escape pod, much closer to the blast, was hurtling towards them, double their speed._   
_It was catching up._   
_Kaidan vaulted towards the radio again. “Come in, Shepard? Joker? Is that you?”_   
_Silence_   
_“Shepard?”_   
_A small crackle. Then a faint voice, wooden with shock._   
_“It’s me. It’s just me.”_

“Hey! You ok?” The same voice broke through his reverie, this time laced with its usual sarcasm.  
“Uh, yeah, sorry.”  
“It's weird, right? I totally wigged out the first time they showed me.”  
“What? Oh, the ship. Yeah, it’s, uh, odd. The last time I saw it, it was on fire.”  
“Yeah, kinda your own fault.”  
“What?” Kaidan paused in the middle of unlocking the door.  
“You know, not seeing it since then. You could've come with us on Horizon.”  
“Oh...yeah.”  
“Yeah.”  
The outer door slid open and they shuffled awkwardly into the airlock.  
“So...what are we doing here?”  
“I'm looking for anything that might shed some light on what happened.”  
“You’re going through Shepard’s stuff?”  
“Essentially.”  
“You really think she left some kind of note? A damning confession explaining her plan to murder civilians and disappear?”  
“You can cut back on the sarcasm now, Joker, I'm fully aware of your opinion on this whole thing.”  
“I can’t believe you still think she did this.”  
“I-” Kaidan paused, turning to meet Joker’s gaze for emphasis, “I don’t know anything yet. Between you and Doctor Chakwas, I realized I was letting my personal feelings hinder my thinking, so I’m trying to keep a clear head. I’d like to believe that she’s innocent, but I have to entertain all possibilities until I’m sure.”  
Joker stared at him in silence.  
“So find something that _convinces_ me she’s innocent, okay?”  
A nod.  
“Thank you.”

 


End file.
